Ties that bind, can also strangle
The Brexit threat and the hardships of reforming the EU
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6289901 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniela Annette Kroll (0000-0001-7319-8925, University of Konstanz, corresponding author), Dirk Leuffen (0000-0002-0419-387X, University of Konstanz) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1311-1320 |
| Publication date | 2016-10-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of European Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-1763 • E-ISSN: 1466-4429 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13501763.2016.1174532 |
| OpenAlex | W2345016243 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
| References cited | 16 |
This article links insights from research on European Union (EU) decision-making and on differentiated integration to the recent negotiations about the future United Kingdom (UK)–EU relationship. We argue that since a Brexit would overturn well-established statics of EU decision-making, EU member states reacted differently to the British demands. States that feared a weakening of their position after a Brexit were more willing to grant concessions to the UK. This largely applies to most northern member states. In contrast, most other member states appeared more reluctant to meet the British expectations. First, these states hoped to improve their standing inside the EU after a Brexit. Second, reflecting deeper structural tensions, the British demands would have entailed higher prices for these member states. Anticipating heterogeneity between the other member states, and thus the stability enhancing mechanisms of the joint decision trap, the UK downscaled its demands before the European Council of February 2016. In consequence, the negotiations on the terms of Britain’s EU membership did not result in a grand overhaul of the EU, but rather in symbolic concessions aimed at pleasing British domestic politics without severely harming other member states’ interests
Brexit · Economics · European union · International trade · Member state · Member states · Negotiation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Position (finance · State (computer science · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Social Policy and Reform Studies
‘To fear or not to fear?’ The nature of the EU-27 countries’ vulnerability to Brexit
Brexit and the trust paradox of sovereigntist internationalism
Prisoners of their own device
Bargaining hard or hardly bargaining? Brexit and the populist renegotiation of international agreements
Unity over diversity? The politics of differentiated integration after Brexit
A little justification goes a long way
Neverland
Back to the future? Franco-German bilateralism in Europe's post-Brexit union
Slow change may pull us apart
Take it and leave it! A postfunctionalist bargaining approach to the Brexit negotiations
Getting Brexit done? The politics of issue-eclipsing pledges
Unilateral withdrawal from the EU
Bounded rationality and the Brexit negotiations
House United, House Divided
Resolving Controversy in the European Union
Veto Players
Double-Edged Diplomacy
The Joint‐decision Trap
Institutional hokey-pokey
The European Union as a system of differentiated integration
Slow change may pull us apart
Differentiated Integration in the European Union
The Contested Council
Enhanced cooperation in practice. An analysis of differentiated integration in EU secondary law
When politics prevails
European and international views of Brexit
A Categorization of Differentiated Integration
Diplomacy and domestic politics
Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes
| Unique citing works | 14 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,4 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 14 |